When I saw this dress online, I thought it was really cute. It looked sophisticated and chic, and I really like the idea of the shoulder detail (I just can’t get enough of this trend!) to add some extra interest to what is regularly just a belted cotton dress. Size Petite 00 wasn’t available online, so I convinced my boyfriend to take a detour after lunch one day to LOFT (in the name of research, of course) to see if I could find the dress in my size.
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I lucked out because there was one dress left in size Petite 00. I snagged it right away and ran off to the dressing room. It looked cute enough hanging on the hanger…but when I put it on…um…I wasn’t totally pleased. I forgot my little red camera that I usually take shopping with me, so I had to test out the camera on my new phone.
First of all…I could probably use one size smaller. Luckily the waist tie helps to cinch everything in, so I might be able to get away with it as-is. Also, the pleats at the waist were bigger than I thought they’d be, which made the skirt poof out a bit more than I’d like. My instinct was to keep trying to smooth it down, which was a little annoying. The shoulder detail was really cute, so it scored points for that.
What ultimately turned me off this dress was it is just too sweet looking. Up close, the polka dots are bigger than I expected, and it just felt very childish. I felt like I was wearing J.Crew Crew Cuts. Maybe it would have been better if it was just a solid color? Or a nice tweed fabric? Either way, the last thing this 4’11″ woman wants is to look any more like a child than she already does, so back on the rack it went.
Verdict: Skip this dress if you’re itty bitty. Leave it for the taller girls who aren’t matched in height by 3rd graders, unless of course you like pats on the head and being offered the kid’s menu.
